Monday, November 17, 2008

New Beatles Track?

LONDON (Reuters) - An unreleased, experimental track by The Beatles could be made public 41 years after it was recorded at Abbey Road studios, ex-member Paul McCartney has said.

McCartney, one of two surviving members of arguably the most successful pop band in history, told BBC Radio that "Carnival of Light" was The Beatles at their most free, "going off piste."

"I said it would be great to put this on because it would show we were working with really avant-garde stuff," McCartney told Radio 4's Front Row culture show in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday.

He confirmed that he had a master tape of the track, which many Beatles fans assumed until now was a piece of musical myth, and added: "The time has come for it to get its moment."

What do you reckon? It could be appalling, you know. Or wonderful. But it sounds like "Revolution Number 9," only not so lucid.

Might be interesting. I actually listened to Revolution No 9 the other day for the first time in ages, and it was spookier, in a good way, than I recalled.

I think the reason Paul wants this out, though, is that he's always been bugged that John has the rep for being the avant-garde one, whereas Paul was in fact the one into Stockhausen and all that stuff first. Or so he's always claimed....

Then again, all the Brit pop stars back then were, as witness the liner notes to the American version of the Who's second album.

I think the reason Paul wants this out, though, is that he's always been bugged that John has the rep for being the avant-garde one.

I blame Yoko.

But Macca has had quite the avant-garde career outside of his pop life. There's a whole book written about it, in fact (The Unknown Paul McCartney). See The Fireman (the new CD is excellent, btw) and Percy Thrillington for examples.

That said, I'm willing to bet "Carnival" bites. And what is "piste" anyhow?

I think the reason Paul wants this out, though, is that he's always been bugged that John has the rep for being the avant-garde one.

DING DING DING DING DING DING!

BTW, anyone who, at this late date and in light of pop history since the early 80s, still doesn't "get" "Revolution #9" should stick to their Eagles elpees. I'd leave off any number of "White Album" cuts - "Honey Pie," "Don't Pass Me By," "Mother Nature's Son" - before I left off "#9".

Ian MacDonald describes "Carnival of Light' pretty extensively in Revolution in the Head. If you trust his take on Beatles history, it won't provide any major revelations. Self-indulgence didn't enter the Beatles' picture until the psychedelic period, at which point it began to crop up with increasing regularity. I doubt it's such a cynical move on McCartney's part. I mean, it is a Beatles track after all. When's he gonna release it, when he's 80? I mean, why not? If he really just wanted attention or wanted to change his legacy, he's smart enough to realize that releasing a 12-minute whatsit--especially in the current song-oriented culture--won't accomplish that goal. Chances are upon hearing it, media people and even young bloggers will scratch their heads and make jokes about doing too much acid and say it should have remained well-hidden.

A few more details about "Carnival of Light"--it was recorded in Jan. 1967, between "Penny Lane" and "A Day in the Life," and took five days.--it's credited to all four Beatles.--McCartney was the driving force, having been dabbling in musique concrete and such well before Lennon began to embrace experimental recording.--Lennon had been fond of saying "avant-garde is French for bullshit"--It was to be a soundtrack for the Carnival of Light happening at the Roundhouse Theater in Camden Town, which predated The Fourteen-Hour Technicolor Dream by three months